More Artwork And Dragoon Screenshots From The New Final Fantasy XIV

Final Fantasy XIV will go through a rebirth when the world and zones change into Final Fantasy XIV: A Realm Reborn. Square Enix gave us a look at some of the new areas like Pirate’s Cove (above) and a ruins in a lake area (below).

Final Fantasy XIV will add traditional classes like the Dragoon into the game. These screenshots show a Dragoon fighting a treant and charging Dragonfire Dive, a class specific skill.

Lalfell

The Lalafell are both rotund and diminutive. Small by any race’s standards and possessing a childlike countenance, a Lalafell’s true age is difficult to gauge with any degree of accuracy. Originally an agricultural people inhabiting the fertile islands of the south seas, they found their way to Eorzea via the burgeoning trade routes. Lalafell are welcoming of outsiders, and share prosperous relations with all of the other races of Eorzea.

Elezen

The Elezen are a characteristically tall people, long of limb and slender of build. They once claimed sole dominion over Eorzea, and developed a heightened sense of honor and pride. In years past, the Hyur migration into Elezen lands sparked bitter conflict. At present, however, the mutual understanding reached between the two races allows them to work towards mutual peace and prosperity.

Roegadyn

The Roegadyn are easily identified by their massive, muscular frames. They are descended from a maritime people that roamed the northern seas, though many of their ancestors turned their longships south to brave the crossing into Eorzean waters. Often considered a barbaric race, the fiercely competitive Roegadyn are also known for their compassion and unswerving loyalty. Many of the greatest warriors in history were born of Roegadyn stock.

If the servers are going to be shut down one day, then no, it doesn’t deserve a number no matter how good it is. Final Fantasies are supposed to persevere, and despite running for over eight years, there will come a definitive end.

Paradox me

If the numbering in Final Fantasy is determined only by perseverance then the mainline series should rightfully be coming to an end very soon as things like DLC, patches and digital distribution take hold.

It’s already begun to happen, or do you think that Final Fantasy XIII-2 and future entries’ DLC will always be accessible? How about when physical media is phased out? Then you find yourself relying on companies for singleplayer experiences about as much as MMO players do; there will come a time when a game isn’t supported via backwards compatibility, the ports/remakes end, the discs and cartridges no longer work and the servers offering you access to your digital content shut down forever.

Will it be tomorrow or even anytime soon? No, but we’re talking about definitive ends, not the timeframes in which it happens.

On top of that, we have no idea what Square’s future plans for Final Fantasy XI are. For all we know it may one day be re-tooled into a singleplayer title or re-released on a free-to-play basis with dedicated server options.

There’s also the fact that Final Fantasy XI remains alive in the hearts and minds of the hundreds of thousands of people that played the game for years. Their experiences don’t disappear when the servers go offline. I quit back in 2009, but overall I put more time into that single game than all of the other Final Fantasy games combined, and I still talk to people I met in the game.

It was Final Fantasy through and through and over those ten years did enough to earn that number many times over.

Bhunivelze

The servers of the original everquest are still running…. you have no idea what you are talking about. FF 11 deserved to be FF 11. Just as FF XIV deserves to be FF XIV.

Furthermore, nothing lasts forever. Do you really think people are going to care about final fantasy 500 years from now?

Godmars

Could have sworn they were getting ready to shut them down shortly after FFXIV was suppose to launch. Then that crashed and burned – and wham – suddenly FFXI was getting expansions again.

Godmars

Have to disagree. Not that its a good game, but rather its overall open nature should have been reason enough to call it “FFO” because that’s exactly what it is.

Paradox me

It had a strong storyline, nearly two dozen classic Final Fantasy jobs represented faithfully and all of the series’ recurring themes and elements, including crystals, enemy types, names, Chocobos, airships, magics, etc.

It is the absolute closest we’ve gotten to a fully 3D, classic Final Fantasy game and has more in common with the series’ roots than Final Fantasy X or Final Fantasy XIII, which despite its lukewarm reception is hardly deemed unworthy of a number.

You’re free to disagree of course, but like I said below, it was Final Fantasy through and through. If not for the online aspect its validity as ‘XI’ would never, ever be questioned. It’s a silly thing to get hung up on.

Godmars

How about that it lacks any real central or supporting characters?

There are player characters, but in the sense of attempting to tell a story within a game such are a whole separate animal. No true immersion is offered, just a pile of stats and tasks. Its that idea, that concept or lack there of, which turned many FF fans off of FFXI.

That’s likely the main issue with Square-Enix over Squaresoft. Where FFI was as generic as generic could be, from FFII to FFX character and story definition became central. With every staple you mentioned being just the franchise linking props they were. After the merger fully took hold that’s when props and reputation took over. That’s when we got FFXII with its overly complex story that had nothing to actually do with half of its characters. Characters who may as well have been in FFXI.

As for FFXIII not being worthy of its number, I can only disagree with you again. I’m certain that if many fans had been given the choice *THAT* FFXIII and its sequel(s) – AAAGGGHHH!!! – would have not been made.

ShinGundam

If many fans had actually had been given the choice then we won’t have any FF at this point because there isn’t any “real” fanbase just fracture fanbase.

Paradox me

How about that it lacks any real central or supporting characters?

Each story arc had a handful of defined characters that were central to that arc. They might not have been playable, but they were main and support characters as far as the plot was concerned.

M’iau M’iaut

Going to have to call you on this one godmars, at least through the original level 50 cap castle and the city rank missions, there is honestly some of the best story telling in the franchise. Folks were just too quick to exit out of the cut scenes to notice.

Shantoto is very arguably one of the most complete characters the series has ever had. It’s just that not enough folks were allied to Windy. There’s a reason she’s been the character brought out for both fighters.

Godmars

That’s what I meant by central and supporting characters; playable ones. Characters who have full developmental arcs.

The character you play in the MMO neither develops nor has any real story – they only build stats, skills and get stuff.

AShinGundam:
And sadly the reason that the fanbase is fractured is because Square wont move past FF13. They made 13-2 and are threatening to make 13-3, continue Lightning’s story, regardless of complaint. Likely, because of the MMO mindset, they’ve lost any ability to tell a real story, only drop incomplete story elements and exploit the franchise’s history.

FF12 was neither really bad or good, but if there had been direct sequels, empty flavorless sequels which used the franchises tropes as a crutch, people would have been pissed.

M’iau M’iaut

But as you knew from the start, your character was something special. You were the one shining light who could accomplish (within your own story line) the goals the set of amazing characters before you could not.

You were the ultimate hero, the star of your own story. I don’t think that as a player there is much more you can aspire to.

Godmars

No. In FF1, the really undefined one, you knew exactly who you were with all the depth of morning dew.

But by FF4 you were a dark knight unknowingly working to ruin to the world before going on a quest to transform into its savior after tons of other crap including a BFF who used mind control as excuse to try and nail your hot girlfriend and an eight year old summoner who after going though a time warp gets DDs. And ultimately you all go to the freakin Moon on a freakin space whale.

A FREAKIN SPACE WHALE!!

And Cloud really had no clue who the heck he was. Tidus was literally a dream who stole Yuna’s spotlight but saved her life in the process. Compare all of that to the franchise’s current leading heroine and the only real comparison you’re going to get is the character film of FF1.

Heh. These are quite nice. The ambiance is very MMO-ish so far.
Hope this would turn out to be great.

Göran Isacson

Just gonna add to the choir of pervsconnoseurs who enjoy the designs on the female Roegadyn. Variety is, as they say, the spice of life~.

Have to admit I’m curious now, if they’ll also include a male version of the Miqo’te, or if the fanservice equality train only goes one way.

Trotmeister

Male cats were revealed long time ago.

Rentekabond

Before the Female Roegadyn too, IIRC.

Göran Isacson

Huh, even on this site? I guess I must have missed that announcement, then.

Wiccan1109

Tbh you’ve probably seen them and not even realised, theyre virtually /identical/ to the females. Unless you knew you were looking at one you could easily glance over and assume its a female. The concept art is a tiny bit more definitive between the two.

I keep up to date with every pic they throw out for 2.0, and i only recently found out a large portion of the cats from pics id previously seen were male, and i had no idea until it was pointed out to me lol. Although i have a friend who noticed right away but then the first place his eyes go to are the chest so he spots them quicker than i do lol.

eilegz

so far this version 2 looks awesome, i hope that they eventually push f2p model…

tha_Chiller

man, just want this to flow on the PS3 like water…is that too much to ask for Squeenix! is that too much to ask for!! *starts to cry in anger*

Settsuo

Glad to see my faith in Naoki Yoshida and the Dev team for FFXIV wasn’t misplaced. Looks amazing and actually looking forward to playing with a lot of new friends and future foes alike :D

Amine Hsu Nekuchan

Man, am I the only who feels this is still too little too late?

Locklear93

You’re not the only one, but people around here tend to have a lot of faith in this. I’m really not sure why, personally, but to each their own.

Arrei

I don’t know about faith, but I’d call it hopeful optimism. It’s not like we’ve forgotten how much they bungled up the original game. But since they’ve gone as far as to sack the entire original dev team, it just might work out this time.

Amine Hsu Nekuchan

I guess it just feels like the MMORPG market is so competitive that I have trouble believing in second chances.

Honestly, there are so many out there that even if one manages to lure me in with some interesting concept, the moment I hit anything off-putting I tend to quit and never look back, because there are so many other choices

The only think special I can tell about FFXIV from any of the videos I’ve watched is… It has pretty graphics… and it’s FF themed(which is starting to mean less and less in recent years)…

Meh, that’s just me anyway.

Locklear93

I don’t think it is “just you anyway.” I think you actually speak for a lot of players, though likely fewer at this particular site. MMOs just aren’t the draw they used to be, and the subscription model is an increasingly tough sell. I can’t name a single subscription based MMO right now that’s in a period of genuine growth, and between 51 levels of FFXI, hundreds and hundreds of combined levels in other MMOs, the severe deterioration (to me personally) of the Square brand, and the fact that I’ve just plain got lots of other games to play, something like FFXIV has its work cut out for it.

Solomon_Kano

I’ll definitely be giving this a go once it hits PS3. Think I’ll make a Roegadyn.

DCBlackbird

Yoshida i’ll ignore that one thing i have against your art just because its epic squared

CirnoLakes

I don’t know what it’s going to take to make people love this game, but I hope they do it.

miyamoto

my PS3 is Ready! Fantastic graphics! And now you and your chocobo can jump!

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